There’s a frenetic week of political activity ahead in Iowa. A nationally televised debate among Republican presidential candidates will be held in Iowa on Thursday. At least nine candidates plan to visit the Iowa State Fair on Thursday and Friday. Then, on Saturday, the Iowa Republican Party will hold its Straw Poll. Six candidates have spent campaign cash to participate in the event and, in some cases, literally drive supporters to the Straw Poll voting site in Ames in rented buses. Texas Congressman Ron Paul has said anything less than a third-place finish would be a disappointment. He has suggesting the Straw Poll may be the end of the road for some of his competitors.”Since you get so much attention,” Paul says, “it can make or break some people in campaigning.” Last week, former Godfather’s C-E-O Herman Cain was asked whether he has to win the Straw Poll.

“No, I don’t believe that I have to win the Straw Poll,” Cain said. “But I do believe that I need to finish in the top three.” Other candidates have been downplaying the significance of a top-tier Straw Poll finish. Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has used the term “underdog” to describe her chances.  “Obviously we want to do as well as we possibly can,” Bachmann said Friday during a news conference in Newton. “We’re at a disadvantage in that we’ve only been running and putting our plan in effect for two months here in Iowa. Other candidates have been here two years or more, and so we’ve at a distinct disadvantage from an organizational standpoint, but the response that we’ve had from Iowans has been overwhelming.” Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Pawlenty hasn’t publicly suggested he needs to win the Straw Poll either, but he’s been urging Iowans to select a candidate who does more than give “fiery speeches”, but one who can beat President Obama in 2012.

“Barack Obama is ripe for the picking,” Pawlenty said Friday night in Tiffin. “In fact, I would say, politically, you could just about stick a fork in him because it’s over for him.” Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has taken swipes at some of his Republican competitors, but his most bitter barbs are targeted at the media. “The national media’s missing the boat,” Santorum said during an appearance at a coffee shop in Ankeny. “They’re missing what is really moving things here on the ground when people are exposed to the candidates, where do they end up migrating as opposed to what the experts when they sit there in their ivory towers, choosing who the profile of the right candidate is to beat Barack Obama.” Santorum, Pawlenty, Bachmann and Cain all are campaigning in Iowa today (Monday).

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney arrives in central Iowa in the middle of the week, his second trip to the state this year. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, a G-O-P presidential candidate who is employing a “skip Iowa” strategy, is due to make his first and likely only Iowa appearance later this week, at the televised debate co-sponsored by the Iowa G-O-P and the FOX News Channel.

(O.Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Residents of Hamburg who were ordered in June to flee their homes amid Missouri River flooding are now being allowed to return. Local officials have lifted the mandatory evacuation. The river rose to record levels because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased releases from upstream reservoirs to make room for heavy rains and melting snowpack. The corps has started reducing the releases but the river is expected to remain high into fall.

Terry Cooper and his family spent Friday cleaning up their house. Cooper says he’s glad to be back but he’s frustrated that the Federal Emergency Management denied financial help for displaced homeowners. The state is appealing.

Cooper says the government caused the flood, so they should help fix the problems it caused.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a Red Oak man was arrested Friday afternoon. 31-year old William Eric Jones was taken into custody on a charge of Simple Domestic Abuse, following an incident which allegedly occurred in the 300 block of West Washington Avenue, in Red Oak.

Jones was being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond, pending a court appearance.

A Cumberland woman wanted on a warrant for 1st offense OWI (drug related), turned herself in to authorities late last week. 23-year old Rachel Marie Huggins appeared at the Cass County Jail on Friday. Huggins was seen by the magistrate late that same day, and released on her own recognizance.

The warrant for Huggins was issued following an investigation into a traffic accident June 17th, 2011.

An official with USDA Rural Development will be on-hand Sunday afternoon in Red Oak, for the dedication of new parking lot at the Montgomery County Historic Center. Hollie Askey will be in attendance for the 1-p.m. ceremony. The Montgomery County History Center received a $70,000 grant from the USDA to assist with the parking lot project.

The Montgomery County Historical Society was organized in 1945, to help preserve and share the area’s history. It continued to grow over the years, and in 2006, moved into a new 14,000 square foot building

The parking lot project marks the conclusion of the final beautification project at the center.